...Software, hardware and solutions that could transform the social order. Or maybe not. Is it early days still?

Bare-bones Computing
One of the biggest deterrents in bringing down the cost of IT usage is that in most cases, users are saddled with a level of advanced hardware and software that they do not need. Defining what is essential and shedding the "nice to have trimmings" in IT equipment and software, can effectively cut costs.

However, it is important to note that such "bare bones" computing will only work in projects involving charitable institutions, rural undertakings and schools where the comparison is with the erstwhile non-existence of laboratory facilities. For users in corporate or even high profile educational institutions fed on the "must have" diet of the latest proprietary software running on super-speed processors, such "dumbing down" of IT infrastructure will not work.

Netcore Solutions managing director Rajesh Jain’s vision of a Rs 5000 PC is, in essence, a thin client (instead of a robust desktop computer- a thick client) with just a keyboard, mouse, monitor and CPU and no hard disk, floppy or CD drive. All the processing and storage is done on the server, with the 5KPC essentially being a display and user interface machine. By shifting processing to the server, the machine could even be a Pentium 1 class machine (100-200 Mhz), and with very little memory (2-32 MB, depending on the network connection available).

The 5KPC uses Linux and other open-source software. The basic set of applications that need to be supported include an email client (Ximian’s Evolution), a desktop productivity suite (OpenOffice), a web browser (Mozilla or its lightweight variants like Phoenix), an instant messaging client (GAIM) which provides interoperability with existing IM clients (AOL, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo), and a PDF reader (Adobe’s Acrobat). All these applications are available for free on Linux.

Computers which have been disposed off as junk in other countries can be very valuable if there is a cost effective way to transport them to emerging markets like ours. The second option is to create a new computer for Rs 2,000, if companies in this space take up the challenge.

The network connection could be a high-speed (100 Mbps or more) Ethernet connection to WiFi (802.11b cards which support upto 11 Mbps. The 5KPC will work under all situations – in fact, it should be designed to work with the lowest connection (dial-up).

The 5KPCs can be equipped with WiFi cards, sourced from the developed countries (for older computers) or built onto the motherboard (for the newer ones).

The 5KPCs run Netcore’s Emergic Freedom software (which runs on Linux but has a "Windows-like" interface"). Emergic is being beta tested at IIT Mumbai. Emergic comes with dozens of free software programs such as the OpenOffice suite (the equivalent of Microsoft Office), educational applets and learning objects, e-mail, web-browsers, community software, etc. Netcore is also working with VIA on the Affordable Computing Lab being set up. For Rajesh Jain too, these are early days yet.